DHAKA: Hundreds of rebel fighters and thousands of civilians are to evacuate the besieged Damascus suburb of Daraya after rebels and the Syrian army agreed to a deal.

A rebel leader and a state news agency have said this which was reported by Al Jazeera on Friday (August 26).

Thursday’s development ended one of the longest standoffs in the Syria’s five-year war.

“Seven hundred armed men with their personal weapons will leave Daraya to head to the (rebel-controlled) city of Idlib, while thousands of men and women with their families will be taken to reception centres.”

One rebel official in the suburb told that the civilians would be transferred to regions around Damascus under government control.

The rebels would have to surrender other armaments to the army.

A military said the army would enter Daraya after the evacuation of the rebel-held town.

“We reached agreement on the evacuation of all of the people of Daraya, civilians and fighters,” said Captain Abu Jamal, head of Liwa Shuhada al-Islam, the largest of two main rebel groups inside Daraya.

The evacuation, which is similar to deals concluded in several besieged areas throughout the course of the conflict, could start as early as Friday and last for two or three days, he said.

“It’s difficult to describe my feelings, we kept holding on for four years to the last breath. The city was destroyed over our heads and we are now not leaving a city but a pile of rubble,” said Hamam al Sukri, a resident who had been living in a basement with his six-member family.

BDST: 2058 HRS, AUG 26, 2016
BD